On Spiritual Narcissism

❤️Some words for the day:

NOT everything you see in others is a reflection of you. Sometimes it’s a reflection of them.

🔥Jung never meant the shadow to be a spiritual silencing tool.

The Shadow Isn’t a Weapon: Reclaiming Jung from Spiritual Bypassing

Carl Jung’s concept of the shadow was never meant to be a spiritual silencing tool. Yet in many modern spiritual communities, his teachings have been twisted into a kind of moral absolutism, where every judgment is labeled a projection, and every recognition of harm is dismissed as “seeing yourself in another.”

This distortion doesn’t foster healing. It fosters denial. And spiritual bypassers and those displaying spiritual narcissism love to use it.

What Jung Actually Meant

Jung defined the shadow as the unconscious aspects of the self. Traits, impulses, and desires we repress or disown. Shadow work is the process of becoming aware of these parts, integrating them, healing and moving toward wholeness.

It’s not about pretending we’re all the same. It’s about becoming honest with ourselves.

Perception=Projection

One of the most misused and stale ideas in spiritual circles is the claim that “everything you see in others is a reflection of yourself.” While projection is a real psychological phenomenon, and one that is always used by narcissistic people, perception is not always projection.

If you have healed from doing your inner work, you are a clear mirror. You see the truth and your discernment is spot on.

🔥Recognition is not always projection. Sometimes it’s clarity.

Recognizing behavioral patterns in others, especially harmful ones, does not mean:

- Recognizing manipulation means you're manipulative.

- Naming spiritual narcissism means you embody it.

- Calling out harm means you secretly want to cause it.

- Identifying gaslighting means you’re a gaslighter.

- Seeing emotional immaturity means you’re emotionally immature.

- Noticing boundary violations means you violate boundaries.

- Feeling repelled by dishonesty means you’re dishonest.

- Acknowledging abuse means you’re abusive.

Sometimes, recognition is clarity. It’s the absolute result of healing, experience, and intuition. It’s the fruit of having done the inner work. To collapse all perception into projection is to erase the wisdom gained through integration. It's saying that nobody comes into their power and wisdom through healing. Those of us that have done the inner work know that's not a truth.

🔥The Weaponization of “Mirror” Teachings

When “everyone is a mirror” becomes a blanket statement, it can be used to:

- Deflect accountability

- Gaslight others into silence

- Justify toxic behavior

- Undermine healthy boundaries

- Shame people for having discernment

- Project toxic behaviors onto other's, generally after being called out on those behaviors.

This isn’t shadow work — it’s spiritual bypassing and spiritual narcissism.True shadow work includes owning one’s impact and issues, not deflecting it onto others.

🔥Spiritual bypassing uses mirrors to deflect accountability.

Spotting Spiritual Bypassing

Spiritual bypassing is the use of spiritual language or concepts to avoid emotional accountability, psychological healing, or relational integrity. It often shows up as:

- Overemphasis on “love and light” while ignoring harm. Toxic positivity

- Dismissing trauma as “low vibration”

- Using karma or “soul contracts” to justify abuse

- Avoiding conflict or causing conflict by labeling it “ego”

- Claiming neutrality while enabling toxicity

- Weaponizing forgiveness to silence someone's truth, abuse and boundaries

Those who bypass often present as enlightened while subtly invalidating others. Their spirituality becomes a mask — not a mirror.

🔥Recognizing Spiritual Projection and spiritual narcissism in Real Time

Spiritual projection happens when someone attributes their own hidden desires, insecurities, or ambitions to another — especially when envy is involved. You’ll often see:

- Accusations of being a “faux guru” from someone who wants to be seen as a spiritual leader and secretly craves influence

- Claims that you’re “seeking attention” if you're well liked and have a following, from someone who feels unseen

- Attempts to discredit your clarity, your truth, your knowledge and experience because it threatens their illusion

- Reversal tactics — where the one causing harm insists they’re the victim, flipping the script

- Sudden moral superiority, arrogance and projection when their own behavior is called out

-Being accused as being a cult leader if you're well liked, have a following and people tend to like what you have to say

🔥Edit: And last but not least-Those that laugh at these words, you've been seen. And it's known that your dismissiveness is a form of nervous insecurity. Your laugh, a mask for your fragile ego when you've seen yourself in the mirror of truth. Go away and laugh at the failed life you live in.

Failed and/or envious individuals often reveal themselves through projection. They accuse others of what they themselves are striving for but cannot embody. Their words expose their wounds.

Everytime.

🔥Identifying Spiritual Narcissism

Spiritual narcissism is the ego’s attempt to hijack spiritual identity for self-importance, control, power or superiority. In an unhealed spiritually narcissistic person, spirituality is used to self elevate as a needed protection from feelings of low self worth and a fragile ego. It often masquerades as wisdom but lacks humility, accountability, and compassion.

Watch for:

- A need to be seen as “more evolved” or “chosen”, special or all knowledgeable. Or, reincarnated from famous historical figures.

- Using spiritual language to elevate self and diminish others. Talking in light codes goes along with this.

- Preaching unity while sowing division. Wanting to be a spiritual leader while attacking other's is not spiritual. It's narcissistic.

- Refusing feedback under the guise of being “above it”. Believing they are above all laws. Energetic and 3D. Cutting one's nose off to spite their face.

- Demanding admiration or loyalty in spiritual spaces. "Why doesn't anyone follow my spiritual path that I created from my own UPG"? When cleary displaying spiritual narcissism and being privy to exclusive knowledge.

- Claiming exclusive access to divine truth. As they are the only truth seer, truth teller, and the end all be all of all truth.

- Dismissing others’ pain as “unenlightened” or “karma” , "it was mean to be", or worse yet, "what did you do to cause or create it".

- Using spiritual status to avoid consequences. Believing with such a damaged ego that there are no consequences and never will be for anything they do to other's.

Spiritual narcissists often accuse others of what they fear being exposed for. Their projections are loud, but their integrity is quiet.

🔥Reclaiming Psychological Integrity

Jung’s teachings invite us into radical self-awareness, not spiritual relativism. His teachings ask us to confront our own darkness. Not to deny the existence of harm within others.

Let’s stop using the shadow as a shield for unhealed ego and start honoring it as a path to truth and healing.

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

— Carl Jung

🔥Call to Action

If you’ve done the inner work, trust your discernment.

If you’re still learning, honor the difference between projection and perception. And don't use it to harm.

And if you’re teaching shadow work, teach it with integrity. Not as a tool, weaponized to silence truth.

Have you ever been told your discernment was ‘just projection’, and thrown back into you? Let’s talk about it.

Let’s bring psychological integrity back into the spiritual conversation.

Let’s bring accountability back into the spiritual conversation.

Not everything you see in others is a reflection of you. Sometimes it’s a reflection of them. And if you've done your inner work, you will spot them, everytime.

If you choose to out them, be prepared for them to show you and everybody else that you were right. Because they will emotionally react with a smear campaign of epic proportions, Highlighting how unhinged and unhealed they really are.

Facts, truth, or anything real isn't important to an unhinged reactionary spiritual narcissist. They will create lies and defame, believing that they have impunity. Getting any reaction from YOU is the goal. For someone that feels irrelevant, your attention is food for their starving spirit. You can count on them continuing their smear campaigns long after you've forgotten about them.

#ShadowWork #CarlJung #SpiritualBypassing #Discernment #InnerWork #TruthTelling #MirrorWork #SpiritualIntegrity